Netflixed: City of Ember

I’d been looking forward to seeing City of Ember ever since I watched the trailer. I’m a sci-fi and fantasy fan, I love inventive set design and costuming, and I’m a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic. Plus, Bill Murray! Of course, I hate going to the movies, so I had to wait until I could rent it to watch.

I’m not familiar with the book by Jeanne DuPrau, but was happy to learn that it is a four-book series. I may have to pick those up after Im finished with my current reading.

I get the impression that City of Ember is geared toward children. As such, it does come upon several problems that children’s movies have. The world of Ember is obviously complex, but many of these complexities are glossed over or skipped outright because movie execs think kids (and adults) are stupid and “won’t get” complicated concepts. The pace of the film is very fast, and while we get glimpses into the odd societal structure built by an unground city with few natural resources, we never really get into the intricacies of any of them.

Bill Murray plays the Mayor of Ember, the highest ranking official in the city. He does a great job with the greedy, complacent leader prone to cronyism. He’s not over the top, not cartoonishly mean… just a jerky bureaucrat who is up to no good. Again, the movie skips over any motivation the mayor may have for his behavior. Is it in the book? I don’t know… yet.

All the acting is great. I was never taken out of the story based on strange lines, bad acting, or massive plot holes. The story unraveled in an engaging and enjoyable way, and the actors playing Doon and Lina prove once again that young actors can be good and still seem like children, and can carry a story realistically.

City of Ember is beautiful to watch. The set design and costuming are fantastic and believable. The retro style that the filmmakers employed (Nixie Tube counters, massive amounts of what appeared to be Futura typeface, lots of dials and switches) work well. The minimal CGI is good, not great, but certainly not distracting.

If anything, I could do with the movie being a half hour longer. They perhaps would have had time to get into some of the meat of Ember. As it stands, things like a quasi-religious cult, the socialist structure of the city, and the incentives of a few characters are left out. Whether those things were left out to make it a shorter, simpler movie for children, I don’t know.

Worth A Rent? I liked it, and I would watch it again. It’s fun, it has decent action, and everything visual in the film was excellent. I was not disappointed, though I was left wanting more.

Filed under: Movies , bill murray, city of ember, jeanne duprau, review

Netflixed: Quantum Of Solace

I like the new Bond films. I’ve enjoyed most of them to some degree but have never been anywhere close to a diehard fan. Bond always seems to be light on the “secret agent” and heavy on the “high profile killing”. The new ones address that nicely.

Quantum Of Solace is full of good action, great camera work and a stand out musical score. The title sequence, interior titles and digital effects are quite enjoyable. While I enjoyed the “Q” scenes in the other movies, I certainly don’t miss them. I used to watch Bond films to see what crazy gadget he’d have, or what his car would do, but I think that’s a bit played out. Craig’s bond eschews tech for fists.

I heard a few people criticize the excessive action of this film, but I didn’t really see it that way. I was never bored and I still felt there was plenty of time to build characters and tell a story. If anything, the only character that didn’t get the attention she may have deserved was the “Bond Girl”, Strawberry Fields. Played by Gemma Arterton, she got very little screen time, was a pretty blank slate, and then was gone. Perhaps this was another attempt to downplay some of the Bond cliches, but I would have liked to have seen more of her in the film. Maybe just another scene or two could have done it.

One thing I’d like to see in the next Bond film is a villain who isn’t a frail, greasy dweeb. It’s definitely the look du jour for bad guys (I’ve seen a ton of movies recently where the baddie is just a dork in need of a shower), and I think it’s time for a change.

I’d like to take a day off at some point and watch Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace back to back, to see if some of what I felt was missing would be recovered.

Worth A Rent? Only if you’ ve seen Casino Royale. I quite liked it.

Filed under: Movies , 007, bond, netflix, quantum of solace

(oops)

I’m no connoisseur of wines, but I do like to try all sorts. For reds, I tend more toward the spicier wines. I’ll lean toward a shiraz now and again. But mostly I buy wine based on how cool the label is, or if I like the name.

We came across Oops a while back and their Gentle Giant quickly became a favorite of mine. It’s smooth and easygoing. It’s one of the most drinkable reds I’ve had.

Other wines in the Oops lineup that I’ve had the chance to try have been quite good. Recommended!

Filed under: Food , oops, wine